South Africa 2010 Football World Cup
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Glory of 2010 won't erase suffering of the masses
June 22, 2007 Edition 1
SOUTH AFRICA will not be rid of the crime wave after the 2010 World Cup.
Well, for starters, it is not Fifa's responsibility to eradicate crime in host countries.
World football's flagship competition has been the catalyst for much infrastructural development, but never before has it been documented that, as a direct result of the month-long event, everyone in the host country lived happily ever after in a crime-free environment. That's a pipedream - and the sooner we face that reality the better. Fifa president Sepp Blatter had a full go at international detractors during his whistle-stop visit to the Mother City earlier this week, but little could he have known that the Cape would burn later the same evening courtesy of the latest war between frustrated communities and drug dealers. Blatter could also not have known that, at about the same time, a helpless little disabled girl would be gang-raped or that another young girl would stab a woman to death or that somewhere on the Flats people were having their houses burgled, some victims being more fortunate than those who lost their lives in the process just last week. We have a major problem, and World Cup 2010 will not bring the desired relief. Yes, the 2010 show will deliver a couple of widened roads, bigger airports, better transport systems for some, hordes of tourists and upgraded (football) venues, and so on and so on. But why must we wait for this wonderful sporting showpiece to be staged here before the authorities inject the missing urgency? In this country, respect for life had, in fact, diminished a long time ago. In the dark days of apartheid, I lost a younger brother through senseless violence, his charred remains stuck in the front seat of his panel van after thugs had thrown a petrol bomb through the front window.
Stadium will be finished in time, assures Zille
June 21, 2007 Edition 2
Cape Town: The new Green Point stadium would be built in time for the 2010 World Cup, Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille said yesterday. No other host city has had to go through as many processes as Cape Town, and no other stadium site in the country is as complex legally, politically, geologically, and financially, she said at the launch of the 2010 Host City Logo. Zille said the hard work and perseverance over the past 18 months reflected the seriousness with which Cape Town took its responsibilities as set out in the Host City Agreement with Fifa. It had been feared the stadium might not be completed on time after the city was reluctant to appoint contractors as it wanted to know who would pay for the stadium. Zille handed a detailed report on progress as at end May 2007 to Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who attended the launch. - Sapa
The quick guide to South Africa
What languages do South Africans speak? Is South Africa a democracy? Are there big cities with modern amenities? Are the roads tarred? How far will my money go? ... You've got three minutes to spare? Here's the lowdown on why South Africa's going to surprise you.
Welcome to the southern tip of Africa. Here, two great oceans meet, warm weather lasts most of the year, and big game roams just beyond the city lights. 
This is where humanity began: our ancestors' traces are still evident in fossilised footprints 80 000 years old, and in the world's oldest rock paintings.
Today, South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa, the most advanced, broad-based economy on the continent, with infrastructure to match any first-world country.
You can drive on wide, tarred highways all 2 000 kilometres from Musina at the very top of the country to Cape Town at the bottom. Or join over seven million international travellers who disembark at our airports every year. Two-thirds of Africa's electricity is generated here. Forty percent of the phones are here. Twenty percent of the world's gold is mined here. And almost everyone who visits is astonished at how far a dollar, euro or pound will stretch ...